Sometimes

Sometimes.... my heart is so full that I want to throw my head back and let out one great, big, laugh. And not a half way laugh. A real laugh that makes your cheeks hurt and your eyes water.

And sometimes..... my days are so happy that I skip everywhere I go and smile at everyone I see.

But sometimes.... my heart isn't so full and my days just aren't so happy. And you know what I've learned? That's okay.

What if we were never unhappy here in this land we sojourn? What if we were always happy people, living our happy lives in a big, happy world? Would we long for Heaven? Would we long for the day when our sweet Abba Father will wipe every tear from our eyes? Would we still pray, "come quickly, Lord?"  Would the thought of leaving this earth and being with our Lord forever still make our hearts swell with excitement? ...Would we cling to Jesus with all we have?

All the time... I'm thankful that this is not my home.

"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." 1 Peter 5:10

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

" Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." Romans 8:23

No turning back,
Alyssa

~Learning to Have a Steady Mind~

He will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You." ~Isaiah 26:3

I battle daily to keep my mind steadfast on Him. To pray continually. To think thoughts that are pure and honorable. To have an encouraging spirit instead of a critical spirit. To just think about Jesus more than anything else.

I believe that if we can get that under control, than many other areas in our lives will follow that lead. My friend and past pastor said this in a sermon last week: "Have HIM as the supreme object of your affections and you will be exactly what people need you to be in their lives." ~ Brother Ed

See, I often worry that I am not measuring up to what people want/need me to be in their lives. Brother Ed reminded me in his sermon that if all of my thoughts, actions, and affections are set on HIM, than everything else will fall into place. Only then will I be exactly what people need.

So how do we keep our  minds centered and our affections focused? Live a life that is permeated with Him!! Read His word. Read it read it read it read it. and after you've read it, read it again.and again and again. don't stop. Memorize His word. Hide it in your heart so you can constantly be "reading." think about it when you are in line at the grocery store, when you are nervous, when you are happy, when you are afraid. Meditate on it while you lie in bed at night, while you run, while you walk. Just remember it and think on it. And pray. pray pray pray pray. Pray while you're driving, pray while you're cooking, pray in the middle of a conversation that God would give you words to say, pray when you wake up, pray when you go to bed, pray before you eat, pray after you eat, it doesn't matter when or where or what you're doing...just pray pray pray without ceasing. (As a kiddo I remember my Sunday school teacher asking us where we could pray. We kids would try our best to come up with the most creative places we could pray and God still hear us[anywhere of course!] My favorite answer I remember saying very often was "Underwater!! Underwater, Mrs. Mary, God can still hear us underwater!!";)

Abide in Him. Constantly live in Jesus.

I have such a long way to go with this, but this is what I'm learning on my journey of being His at the moment. Let's encourage each other! :)

John Piper used this acronym as an example to help keep our minds focused on Him:

" Through the day I will pause and ask, What are your A.I.M.S? And I will answer:

A. I will call to mind the stupendous truth that Jesus is ALIVE. (Luke 24:5–6)

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

I. I will remember the breathtaking reality that Jesus is IN me. (Romans 8:10).

“Christ is in you.”

M. I will ponder the all-comforting fact that Jesus is MIGHTY. (Matthew 28:18).

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

S. And I will savor the sweetness that Jesus is SATISFYING. (John 6:35)

"Whoever believes in me shall never thirst."

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/a-i-m-s-a-new-acronym-for-living-my-life




Jesus is worth our all,
Alyssa

Fearless

Hey friends! I've been listening to/reading a lot of John Piper this week. I have learned so much from him! He paints a good picture of Biblical womanhood in this video.

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."          ~Proverbs 31:25

Let's be fearless, friend, because we know Who holds us. He's the One who calms the raging sea, who named all the stars and sustains them, who molds our hearts, who breaths life into dry bones, who knows when every sparrow falls, who sings over His children; the One who is working all things together for the good. That's the One we can entrust our entire lives to and become so fearless that we laugh at whatever stuggles may come. That's the woman I want to be ~ a woman completely surrendered and resting in her sweet Father's hands.

Hoping in Him,
Alyssa

Letter to an Incomplete, Insecure Teenager by John Piper

Hey friends!! I was so greatly encouraged by this post by John Piper today: Letter to an Incomplete, Insecure Teenager. I hope you will read it and I hope it encourages you as much as it did me. Happy Thursday!

Image from: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/letter-to-an-incomplete-insecure-teenager

You Can't Run [or fly] When You're Holding Suitcases

A few Sundays ago in Sunday school we found our place in Genesis and read about God telling Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Brother Mike used that to remind us to be willing to give our all for Him, to be willing to sacrifice that which is most precious to us for Him, and not to drive our "tent pegs" too deep in this world. When we release something to God, He replaces it with something even better. The reward is far greater than the sacrifice.


"And without faith it is impossible to please Him. He who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him." ~ Hebrews 11:6
And I believe all those things with my whole heart! In my early teen years when I was still in public school, I began to feel God press on my heart that I needed to come out of the public school system. This meant great sacrifice. It meant giving up all I had ever known school to be: friends, cheerleading, tennis, beta club, awards, homecoming, dances, even graduation this year! It meant letting go of so many things that I thought I couldn't live without. With much uncertainty, I decided along with my parents that I would finish my highschool education at home. Once I finally surrendered all His hands, He replaced all that was surrendered with things worth far more than any of the surrendered things ever could. Eternal things. He filled my heart with joy and taught me to fly. He rewarded me with Himself! And words cannot even describe how awesome and faithful God was during that time of testing, how He provided much better things than the things that were surrendered. I grew so much closer to my sweet Savior and so much more of my life was focused on Him. I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world! What a precious season of my life that was!! The things of this earth grow strangely dim in the light of His great glory and grace. God said to Abraham in Genesis 15:


Genesis 15:1 NKJV


"After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."


HE is our reward!! I love that! It is soo true! "In His presence is the fullness of joy!" Psalm 16:11


Remember, friend, when you take a leap of faith, God will do one of two things: He will catch you, or He will teach you to fly. And it's awful hard to fly if you are holding suitcases. ;-) Let them go.


"Behold, this is our God for Whom we have waited..." Is 25:9


Love in Him,
Alyssa


alyssa0343@hotmail.com
alyssa.psalm37.4@gmail.com

My Life~

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Still having internet troubles, but I hope to be back regular really soon. Here is a peek of what's been going on in my life over the past few weeks:

God is so good.

Set Apart Sparkle

They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed.
~Psalm 34:5

I have been memorizing Psalm 34 this past week. What a sweet scripture to a hungry soul it is! I've read this chapter many times in the past, but I've never really meditated and thought on it.

Often, my prayer to my Savior is that I would shine with His glory; that when people look at me, they would be able to see Him and His light. After reading Psalm 34 a few times and really thinking on it, I finally made the connection between my prayer that I pray so often and what the Bible says in verse 5. It says that they were radiant...when they looked to Him. When their gaze was fixed on Christ Jesus and His Word, His beauty; when their minds were turned from all the distractions of this world and were steadfast upon Him, then they were radiant.

They were radiant, filled with peace, and they trusted God.

"You will keep in perfect peace him [or her] whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in You."
~Isaiah 26:3

That's what I want. I want my mind to be so fixed and so steadfast on my Jesus that it makes my face glow, makes my mind full of peace and trust, and makes my heart overflow with exceeding joy.

I looked up the Hebrew word behind the word radiant, and found out what it meant. (I love doing that ~ it let's you go soo much deeper in the Word and find out in full what the verse says and means.) I found out that radiant also means sparkle. To sparkle!!!! :-) Wouldn't it be beautiful if our faces constantly sparkled and glowed with Heavenly radiance?! If we want to have that set apart sparkle, our lives have to be lived out in His presence. We have to move out all those distractions and meditate on His word. We have to talk to Him and get to know Him and spend time with Him. We have to have a pure heart, because those with pure hearts see God. He shines on them.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
~ Matthew 5:8

So let's work on our heavenly sparkle this week. Let's spend time with Him who can truly satisfy everything our hearts desire and long for. Let's let His glory shine on us and make us radiant so others can be drawn to Him. He is more beautiful and more soul satisfying than anything we can imagine!!

Oh praise Him!!!

Love,
Alyssa

In Moments Like These

It's March 1st! February is gone. Wow, how time flies! Our internet has been down this past week so I haven't been able to post lately. I'm sending this quick post from my phone.

My week has felt like a whirlwind so far but at the same time it has been good. It has been filled with lots of children and smiles! I am learning that it is so important to just stop and cherish the little moments: baby cousins taking their first steps; blowing bubbles, going on "a hike" and having a picnik with a little cousin who is not quite so little anymore; listening to my parents sing and play hymns and songs that are so dear to my heart; tears filling eyes while listening to the prayer of a little boy whose prayer sounds more like its coming from the mouth of a mighty man of God than a 5 year old; a roomfull of kids reciting verse after verse of scripture from memory; being a little girl again and building a fort on a rainy day with 2 sweet kiddoes who I have missed dearly; capturing memories on camera with those same kiddoes; quiet moments with my Savior; thinking and smiling about the future with soon to be roommate if the Lord wills; watching a whole field bloom with purple wildflowers; sweet hugs from new friends; moments of learning from people of God much wiser than me; laughter; a heart that smiles again; and last but certainly not least ~ overflowing thankfulness to my Abba Father after reflecting on sooo many blessings and moments of joy....God is faithful. Always. 

"In moments like these,
I sing out a song,
I sing out a love song to Jesus

In moments like these,
I lift up my hands,
I lift up my hands to the Lord

Singing I love You Lord
Singing I love You Lord
Singing I love You Lord
I love You"

~Moments Like These

Love in Him,
Alyssa